Morgan Leaves Speedworks; Family-Run Ciceley Team To Enter 2013 BTCC

Adam Morgan spent just the one season at Speedworks Photo: Kingsley Newman Photography

Adam Morgan will return for next season’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at the wheel of a family-run Toyota Avensis, ending his time with the Speedworks Motorsport team after one season.

The 2011 Ginetta Supercup champion earned his spot with Christian Dick’s outfit on this year’s grid in his father’s Ciceley Racing team, and the championship-winning combination will reunite for 2013.

Ciceley, headed by ex-racer Russell Morgan, has bought an Avensis chassis from Dynojet Racing used by Frank Wrathall in 2011.

Morgan Snr. said: “We are well on the way with the project and we are enjoying getting the old team back together around us and planning Ciceley Racing’s BTCC debut.

“It will be a big step for us, and we are looking for an experienced race engineer to help us, but we are relishing the challenge.”

Morgan Snr. paid tribute to the efforts of the Speedworks team, with whom Morgan Jnr. had previously told theCheckeredFlag.co.uk had been a big help in bringing him on as a driver – and despite some misfortune and a number of incidents on-track, his father praised team manager Dick and his outfit.

“The only sadness is that it means the end of our fruitful association with Speedworks Motorsport,” he said. “Christian Dick and his team have worked tirelessly on Adam’s behalf throughout this season and have helped bring him on in leaps and bounds, for which we will be eternally grateful.

“This was not an easy decision for us and finances were the main consideration. Our hope for 2013 is for an improvement in Adam’s luck and to become a top-10 regular,” said Russell, “and then maybe to be able to snatch a podium.”

Having proven himself a quick driver – sterling efforts in qualifying at Snetterton and Silverstone are testament to that – Morgan Jnr. is relishing the opportunity and the challenge of building on his debut year with his own team.

He said: “We have a lot of work to do and a lot of stuff to sort out, but it should be great and I am really looking forward to it. This is a family team and everyone likes really to get stuck in and to help out.

“We will be organising every aspect of every race weekend ourselves and that is something that we all enjoy doing. Obviously it’s a bit of a step up to touring cars, but we are going to give it a go: it all worked really well for us in 2011 in Ginettas.”

He too expressed his gratitude at the effort of his former team – and set his sights firmly on making the most of what he learned with them.

“It’s a shame to be leaving Speedworks: they are a great bunch of lads and despite my not having had the best season’s racing they have been great at helping me out and keeping me focused and committed, so I really want to say a massive thank-you to them.

“Now we are going to crack on and hopefully get the Toyota ready well before the season starts so we can get out testing. We would really like to get everything done well in advance and get five or six days of testing in the bag so that we are fully prepared and ready to go, and hopefully we can then hit the ground running.

“This year was a challenging one for me. I learned a great deal about the car and about set-up. I believe I showed that I have the pace to compete in the top 10. Now it is all about now getting the results.”

It means neither of the Speedworks Toyotas pedalled in 2012 have drivers, following Tony Hughes‘ announcement last month of his retirement from the BTCC. Fan-favourite Paul O’Neill is in talks with the team.

Morgan Leaves Speedworks; Family-Run Ciceley Team To Enter 2013 BTCC was last modified: November 5th, 2012